Method of and apparatus for cutting off waste ends of incandescent lamp bulbs



June 19, 192s., 1,674,367

J KEHL R. METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OFF WASTE ENDS OFINCANDESCENT LAMP BULBS Filed 0G12. 5, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheetr 4l lum un HHT( l IN V EN TORI June 19, 1928 R.-.J. KEHI. 'METHOD OF AND APPARATUSFOR CUTTING OFF WASTE ENDS OF INCANDESCENT LAMP BULBS Filed 001;.5, 19212 sheets-sheet 2 1N V EN TOR.'

A TT ORNE YS.

Patented June 19, 1928.

UNITED ySTAB TENT oFFICE.

ROBERT J'. KEHL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,TO THE LIBBEY GLASS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO. l

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING OFF WASTE ENDS OF INCANDESCENT LAMPZB''ILBS.

Application filed October 3, 1921.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for cutting-off or!severing the Waste ends from thel stems or necks of incandescent lampbulbs, but it will be understood that the method and apparatus disclosedmay also be utilized for the removal of parts from other tubulararticles.

The relatively heavy waste mass, generally known as the moil, at the endof the stem or neck of a machine-blown incandescent lamp bulb hasheretofore been removed by methods and machines which are not entirelysatisfactory. By one method known as the heating-and-cracking-offmethod, the bulb is heated at the line of severing and then brought intocontact With a cold body, which causes the end to crack oif. The edge ofthe bulb must then be re-heated to make it smooth and prevent checking,but even then many are cracked, checked, and otherwise renderedWorthless. By another method known as the melting-0E method, the bulb isheated at the line of severing until it softens suiiiciently so that theWeight of the Waste end separates it from the bulb proper. Removing theWaste end by this method takes /considerable time and gas, and the edgeusually needs to be re-heated and shaped with a reamer or other tool.

Various types of machines have heretofore also been employed to carryout the foregoing methods. In the continuous travel apparatus, acontinuously revolvingy carrier continuously moves the bulbs past theheating and auxiliary devices7 the bulbs at the same time rotating abouttheir own vertically disposed longitudinal;A axes. In the intermittenttravel apparatus an intermittently operating carrier moves Athe bulbfrom one operation to the next, the bulb being rotated as in thecontinuous'travel apparatus. In the single operation apparatus, a bulbis fed into a fixture and revolved until the heating and removingoperation is r completed whereupon it is removed.

Subjecting the bulb to a succession of operations or to a flame whichheats the bulb until the Waste end drops off, requires considerable timeand gas, and the principal object of this invention is therefore, tolprovide a method and apparatus that shall be more economical inoperation. According Serial No. 505,154.

to the present invention, the lamp ,bulb is supported so that its mainaxis is vertical, With the Waste end thereof lowermost, and the bulb isthen rotated about such axis While the latter is stationary, with thecutting line on the neck thereof between heating and cutting gas flamesof an intensity adapted to-irst heat the neck along such line and thenquickly puncture or slit it to an extent to sufiiciently weaken theconnecting section so that the Weight of the Waste end exceeds theadhesion or strength of the remaining connecting section, whereupon theWaste end quickly drops off. The temperature of the gas dames may becomparatively low for this operation, or compara' tively high ifdesired, the gas fiames being so adjusted as to provide sharp cuttingpoint-s, producing a very localized lfusion (herein called severing orcutting) as distinguished from the heating up and gradual fusion whichtakes place when ordinary fiames are used, which Will quickly puncturethe neck after it has been slightly heated along the cutting-oli' line.The glass along the line of severance is thus melted so quickly thatseverance results and leaves the glass constituting the severed edge ofthe finished article in substantially its original position with regardto the portion. of the said' article to which it is attached. Theimproved apparatus for carrying out the improved method broadlycomprises mechanism for suspending the lamp bulb with its Waste endlowermost, and rotating the bulb about its vertical axis While the wasteend is being vcut oif. The cutting-off means comprises pointed gasiames, desirably groups' of such flames, symmetrically arranged in avhorizontal plane about the axis of rotation'A of the bulb .and oppositethe line of juncture of the waste end and the neck proper, and soarranged that the tips of thev ames will touch and heat the bulb alongsaidline and then quickly cut, slit, orV puncture it along thecutting-off line, as distinguished from fusing off such end. By thismethod and apparatus the waste or moil end is effectively and quicklyremoved in a single operation, resulting in considerable economy of timeand gas. The entire cutting operation is done in one setting andthepossi- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an.-

ap ,aratus embodying the present invention an adapted to carry out theimproved method,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an improved.

burner employed in the apparatus and method of the present invention.

` 3 1s a horizontal sectlonal view of the urner of Fig. 2,. takenthrough the burner nozzles thereokf, and

Fi 4 illustrates another apparatus eml bodylng this invention andcapable of performing the improved method. vv Various mechanisms may beemployed to handle machine-blown incandescent lamp l bulbs orsimilararticles and properly pre- 'sent them to a cutting-olf burner,and the mechanisms shown in the drawing are, therefore, merelillustrative.- Referring to Fig. 1, a `suitab e support, such as tableT, has' bearin s for rotatably mounting a` vertical shaft carrying aturret R parallel to and above the table, the shaft S being adapted tobe rotated intermittently, as by a Geneva gear G operated by a suitableower shaft P through suitable gearing an a countershaft S. The turret Ris provided with a series of chucks C, each adapted to receive amachine-blown incandescent lamp ybulb L from suitable feeding mechanism(not shown) and suspend it with its main axis vertical, and rotate itabout such vertical axis, as through suitable shafting S and gearing Kand K.

Incandescent lamp bulbs, as blown in a machine, usuall have relativelyheavy waste masses, ot erwise known as moils, at the ends of the stemsor necks thereof. In the machine-blown bulb illustrated in Fig. 1, forexample, the relatively heavy waste mass W is shown at the lower end ofthe neck N, and before the bulb may be utilized in lam manufacture, vitis necessary to remove t is waste end along a line A. This end hasheretofore been removed by various methods and machines, as described,which are objectionable because of the high percentageof defective bulbsproduced, comparatively poor finish of edge,'and the time and gasrequired. According to the present invention, `the lamp bulb L isrotated about the axis of the burner and the' flames, and the.latterfirst heat the neck along the line A and then quickly slit orpuncture it so that the connecting section is suiciently weakened toperinit the weight of the waste `end to overcomethe adhesion of theremaining connection and drop off by gravity.

The mechanism of Fig.^1 intermittently presents rotating lamp bulbs tothe cuttingoft burner B with'the axis of the lamp bu b coinciding withthe axis of the burner `and the cutting-off line disposed in theu samehorizontal plane with and opposite to and practically touching the tipsof the gas fiames of the burner B. The burner employed may be of anysuitable construction, the one illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 beingespecially suitable for the apparatus disclosed in Fig. 1 wherein thebulb is moved 'into cutting-ofi' position from the side, while theburner shown in Fig. 4 is of a type adapted for the insertion of thelamp bulb, axiall from above. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 an comprises aheader or casting having paralllel base'members 15 and 16 provided withscrew holes 17 whereby the burner may be secured to the table T. Pairsof upright members 19, 20 and 21, 22 rise from the ends of the bases 15,and 16 the upper ends of the uprights 19, 21 and 20, 22 being connectedby the bridges 23, 24, respectively. As illustrated in Fig. 3, theinneropposed sides of the bridges 23 and 24 have curved faces 231 and 241respectively, whose 'center of 3, the improved burner. illustratedcurvature is in the vertical axis of the burner. The outer side of thebridge 24 is provided with a gas inlet passage 25 to which a suitablegas supply device or mixer M may be coupled. The faces 231 and 241 areprovided vwith groups of outlets 26, 27 which are connected .to the maininlet gas passa e 25 by suitable gas passages D connecte together andextendlng through the` several sections of the burner casting. The

outlets 26 and 27 mayl have burner nozzles 28 and 29 detachably andadjustably coupled thereto, as by screw-threaded stems fitting inthreaded vportions of said outlets. The groups of burner nozzles 28 and29 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis of the burner andon diametricallyV oppositesides thereof, as shown, being disposed withinan arc of about 60. The intermittently rotating carrier or turret R thuscarries the bulb laterally into the burnerA through one side of thelatter and out againl ,at the opposite side, the neck, of the bulb thatthe tip of the high temperature flamesl will practical] just touch thewall of the neck N at t e cutting-olf line A. The groups of flames oneach side of the 'axis in eect thus provide two arcs of flames for lll)heating and puncturing the neck of the lamp bulb. The .distance betweenthe groups of burner nozzles is, of course, determined by the size ofthe neck of the lamp bulb to be operated upon, different lengths ofburner nozzles being insertable in the outlets 26 and 27. The speed ofrotation of the lam bulb and the pressure of the as suppliedv y theburner nozzles are also actors determining the time of heating andpuncturing the necks. The pressure of the mixture of the gases issuingfrom the tips is desirably between 6 and 12 ounces per square inch, andthe temperature and visual properties of the cutting llame are desirablythose characteristic of oxidizing Oxy-fuel gas flames. For example, ithas been found that for a lamp bulb having a neck about one andthree-fourths inches in diameter at the cutting-oft line A, the bestspeed of rotation is about thirty revolutions per minute, if anoxidizing flame having a tip pressure between 6 and 12 ounces per squareinch is em-o ployed. The kind of gas used also plays an important partin the number of burners in each group and the particular distance theyare separated. For Oxy-hydrogen, oxycity gas, Oxy-natural gas, etc.flames (comparatively low temperature flames) each group of burnersdesirably consists of three burners spaced about 30O apart, asillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, while for Oxy-acetylene flames (hightemperature flames) two groups are employed with two burners in eachgroup spaced about 60 apart.

The burner casting may also be provided with suitable cooling-waterconnections 31 and 32 to circulate cooling water through suitableconnected passages E in the several sections of the burner casting.

Fig. 4 illustrates a burner B embodying the principles of this inventionbut in which the lamp bulb L is inserted from above into the chuck C andinto the space within the burner in position to be operated upon by theflames. n Suitable mechanism may be provided for successively presentingthe bulbs to the chuck C and for rotating the latter and the lamp bulb Labout the vertical axis of the burner B. yThe burner B as illustrated,is provided with groups of burner nozzles 28 and 29 similar to thoseshown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but the sides and ends of the casting are inthe same plan, otherwise the adjustment and operation of this burner andthe apparatus associated with it are similar to the apparatus shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3.

Guards F may be secured to the burner castings, or headers, desirably tothe tops ot' the nozzle-carrying sections thereof, and extend inwardlyover and sli htly beyondthe tips of the groups of nozz es 28 and 29 a.suliicient distance to protect the nozzles from damage.

Furthermore, the mixing and gas supply device M may have acoolingwaterpassage lml that may be connected in series with the passages E of theburner by pipes 311 and 321 so that the cooling-water may becirculatedthrough the mixing device and header successively, avoiding extra pipingend connections.

The operation and advantages of the improved method and apparatus willbe apparent from the foregoing description. While the invention has beenshown and described in detail, it will be understood that variduschanges may be made in the constructions herein disclosedwithoutdeparting from the principles of the invention or sacrificilig any ofthe advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. The method of cutting olii' a part of a tubular article at onesetting which comprises supporting said article ata station so that itsmain axis is vertical andsaid part is at its lower end and with thetemperature of the article substantially uniform and rotating saidarticle at said station about such vertical axis and between heating andcutting gas flames adapted to heat said article along a circumferentialline or zone and then puncture it along said line at the said station toan extent to sullicientl weaken the connecting section so that t eweight of said part overcomes the adhesion of said part to the main partof the article and said part drops oil". l

2. The method of `cutting off a part of a tubular article at one settingand in a single Operation which comprises supporting said article sothat its main axis is vertical and said part is at its lower end andwith the temperature of the article substantially uniform and rotatingsaid article about a fixed vertical axis coinciding with its main axisand between heating and cutting gas flames arranged symmetrically and ingroups on opposite sides of said lixed axis and adapted to heat saidarticle along a lcircumferential line or zone and then puncture` itswall along said line to an extent to suliiciently weaken the connectingsection so that the weightpf said part exceeds the adhesion along saidline and said part drops oli.

3. The method of severing glass articles having forms of rotation, whichconsists in tak-ing such an article while it is substantially uniform intemperature and rotating it about its own axis while maintaining thataxis stationary, and, while so rotating the' article, melting the glassalong a circumferential line so quickly that severance results andleaves the glass constituting the severed edge of the artlcle insubstantially its orlginal position with regard to the portion of thearticle to which it is attached.

4. The method of cutting olil the waste end of the neck of a glass lamp.bulb at one setH ting and in a single operatlon which comisov prisessupporting said bulb so that its main axis is vertical and said wasteend is lowermost; rotating| said bulb and its support about a fixedvertical axis that coincides with said main axis; and, during suchrotation, directing flames against said neck and thereby melting theglass along a desired line of severance so quickly that severanceresults and leaves the glass constituting the severed edge of thefinished article in substantially its original position with regard tothe portion of the said article to which it is attached.

5. The method of cutting off the waste end of the neck of a glass lampbulb at one setting and in a single operation which comprises supportingsaid bulb so that its main axis is'vertical and said neck is suspendedand said waste end is lowermost; rotating said bulb and its supportabout a single fixed vertical axis that coincides with said main axis;and, during such rotation, directing oxidizing flames against said neckadapted to heat the latter` along a circumferential line and thereuponpuncture said neck along the same line until the weight of the waste endexceeds the adhesion along said line and Said end drops oii". f

6. Apparatus for cutting oli' the end of a tubular glass article,comprising a burnerl having a base, a standard rising Vvertically ,fromthe base at each end thereof, a plurality of nozzles removably attachedto each standard and directed' towards a common center between thestandards, lthere being passages' in the base and standards leading tothe sevadapted to carryan article with its axis vertical and at adistance from the axis of the carrier equal to the distance of saidcommon center from the axis of the'carrier, means for intermittentlyrotating the carrier, andmeans for rotating an artlcle 1n the carriervwhile the axis of said article is stationary and coincides with saidcommon center.

7. Apparatus for cutting ofi' the waste end of the neck'oi:l a glasslamp bulb comprising,

in combination, a chuck for supporting said bulb with the waste endthereof suspended below the chuck and so that themain axis of the bulbis vertical, means for rotating said chuck and the bulb carried therebyabout' the main axis of the bulb while said axis is stationary, and aburner below said chuck for cutting ofi' the waste end of said bulbcomprismg groups of symmetrically arrangednozzles disposed in asubstantially horizontal plane and adapted to project pointed flamesradlally of` the axisv of rotation of said bulb so as to practicallyjust touch said bulb to ciently weaken the connecting section so that ythe weight of said waste end exceeds the adhesion along said line andsaid wasteend. drops off.

8. Apparatus for cutting ot the waste ends of the necks of glass lampbulbs comprising, in combination, a table or support, a burner mountedon said support and comprising spaced vertical members joined byhorizontal members to form a header, gas and cooling water passages insaid vertical and horizontal members, groups of burner nozzles in theupper horizontal members of said header, such nozzles being disposed ina substantially horizontal plane andl radially with respect to the axisof said burner, means for supplying a gas mixture to said gas passagesand nozzles, means for supplying cooling water to said cooling waterpassages, means for presenting glass lamp bulbs lto said burner with thewaste ends thereof lowermost, between said groups of nozzles, and withthe main axes of such bulbs coinciding with the axis of said burner, andmeans for rotating, said bulbs about the axis ot the burner whereby thegas flames from said groups of burner nozzles are adapted to heat .theneck of said bulb along a circumferential line at the juncture of saidwaste parttherewith and then puncture the necks along such lines to anextent to sufficiently weaken the connecting section so that the weightof the waste part exceeds the adhesion lalong said line and said wastepart drops off.

9. Apparatus for cutting off a part of a tubular article comprising, incombination, a'

header having gas passages and gas outlets symmetrically arranged 'inthe same planev about the axis of said header, water cooling passages insaid header, a gas .supply device coupled to said header and adapted tosupply gas to said gas passage and provided with a water-coolingpassage. and connections between the water-cooling passage of said gassupply device and the Water-cooling passage of said header wherebycooling ywater may be circulated successively'through such passages.

10. The process ofi-severing glass, which consists in melting theglassalong the line of severance so quickly that severance-,results andleaves the glass constituting th'e severed edge of the article insubstantially its ori lnal 'position with regard to the portion o thesaid article to which it is attached.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature.

ROBERT J. KEHL.

